Among the Bramble Bushes
by Mez'n'Ser
Summary: If he had one wish, it was that he had never seen that bouquet of Anemone and Bay Leafs wrapped within the arms of a Cypress and placed in among the vines of his Nightshade in his back garden. Harrison just knew Death had placed the bouquet there as a taunt and a warning of what would come.
1. Chapter 1

**AN:** So, I have no Beta and I have proofread this the best I could, but I probably missed some things anyway. Also, I don't know if I will continue this story..it's up to you guys.

 **Summary:** If he had one wish, it was that he had never seen that bouquet of Anemone and Bay Leafs wrapped within the arms of a Cypress and placed in among the vines of his Nightshade in his back garden. Harrison just knew Death had placed the bouquet there as a taunt and a warning of what would come.

 **Disclaimer:** Don't own any of the characters or the stories they come from. The only ones of my own creation are any ocs that pop up and some plot devices.

 **Warning:** Violence, Blood, Gore, Lots of hidden meaning thanks to the language of flowers, and vulgar language.

 **Chapter one: Dahlia**

 **Dahlia:** __A genus of bushy, tuberous, herbaceous perennial plants native to Mexico. A member of the Asteraceae, dicotyledonous plants, related species include the sunflower, daisy, chrysanthemum, and zinnia. The dahlia suggest the **instability** of perfect beauty, or the instability of one's self. It shares this meaning with Moonflower.

 _Throughout human history, there have been documentations and obscure legends regarding creatures and entities that were created through either black magic, a brutal fate/murder, intense anger or insanity. Beings who were either brought into this world through someone's own intense hatred, anger or insanity at the time of their death, or when the mortal's mind snaps. Though some entities origins have been forgotten, their stories lost to time, yet still remembered in other tales._

 _These beings have no real classification among the other incorporeal/corporeal/demonic entities, for they share the same characteristics as those of avenging spirits, the twisted sense of poltergeists and many the flesh and habits of demons. Yet, many of these creatures wear the flesh of mortals, but are clearly otherwordly._

 _Though, over the years these entities have changed, many of the older ones fading from history and lore, while the newer ones are easily sustained as their stories are spread throughout the internet and social media with a few of the oldest managing to keep their stories alive through these means. Even inspiring games based on their stories, thus furthering their lifespans. For, these creatures, whom have gone many names in the past, can only remain as long as their stories are remembered and feared by the humans they prey on. Much like the youkai of Japan, whom feast upon the Fear the humans have for their kind. Though some of these creatures require more physical nourishment, which in most cases is the flesh of the mortals they once were apart of._

 _No mages have been recorded to have turned into one of these Abominations, though many scholars wonder if it has something to do with the fact that most mages either become ghosts upon death or simply pass on to the Great Beyond, their magic helping guide their spirits or anchor them in place. Perhaps a mage's magic prevents their mental health from deteriorating to the point that the user could 'snap' and become one of these monsters. Although, this has not been proven given the fact that most dark lords/ladies have possibly reached this point due to their uses of Black Magic and other such forbidden magics._

 _The thought of a fully trained wizard or witch 'snapping' and becoming an Abomination or Dark One is rather terrifying to imagine. Especially if it is a wizard or witch as powerful as Dumbledore in his prime or the late Grindelwald. A creature spanned from their snapping and rebirth would be something beyond demonic…._

Export from _Tales of the Dark Ones: A Study in Old Creature Lore and Extinct Magical Creatures._

-0-

If one looked at his history, Harrison James Potter had been close to snapping for a very, very long time. Yet each time, he was pulled back from the brink of insanity by something: be it duty, the good intentions of a slightly manipulative Headmaster, or the love of his friends. For years, the young mage has been close to snapping and becoming something no longer human, only to be pulled back from the edge of insanity each time.

Throughout his years before Hogwarts, thanks to the rough treatment of the Dursleys, young Harry had been very close to snapping. But, only the thought of his wish for a better life and the mysteries of the odd letters stayed his hand. Had he snapped then, the child would have become the avenging entity for abused children known Ripper. Taking the name of his 'Aunt' Marge's dog, in an ironic sense of justice and twisted respect for his first kill.

During Hogwarts before the war, the growing wizard nearly snapped many times. The first two times during his second year due to his isolation and accusations from his friends, his house and the school due to the events of the Chamber of Secrets. Young Harry nearly snapped three times throughout the debacle that was his Fourth Year. And he nearly snapped again when his godfather died in the Ministry.

Then the war happened, though small it was tragic and devastating, with Harry and his friends being on the run throughout what would have been his Sixth year. Throughout the war, the young wizard was on the brink of snapping from the stress and trauma of fighting a war most of the adults were running from. So many lost, so much pain and trauma throughout the entirety of the war...and then Harry died to defeat Voldemort and came back ending the war in that Final Battle.

After that, the Savior tried hard to live life as others expected him to: he became an Auror, got married to Ginny after a year of re-courting her and tried to make a brood of mini-Potters. But, Harry was not happy, he was barely living and it was starting to show. Even his co-workers noticed that the man seemed almost listless between missions, even as he raised quickly up the ranks and became Head Auror..it didn't make the former Savior happy. And then the fighting between him and Ginny started as it had been three years since they were married and still no child, and others were starting to ask questions. Because as the Head of Potter and Black needed children to inherit the title and the busy bodies of the wizarding world kept pushing for him and Ginny to have them.

The couple tried, and tried for a year before finally going to a medi-witch after another large fight. Turned out that Harry had been rendered infertile due to possibly spell damage, though the Auror also thought it was because he died before defeating Voldemort. There was nothing the medi-witch could do to reverse the damage as it had been untreated for too long. When Harry inquired about possible ways that him and Ginny could have a child through magic, it was meet with disappointment due to the Britain Magical Community not being as advanced as other Magical Communities. Many of the methods that other communities had invented just for this was considered illegal anyway by Britain's standards, even though it wasn't fully in the realm of Dark Magic.

A wedge was drove between the couple because of the news and slowly they began to grow further and further apart. The fights becoming more often as Harry quit the Auror Corps and decided to become a med-wizard to search for a way to help others with spell damage in Britain and try and find a way for him and Ginny to have children without having to move out of the country. His friends joined in on the fights over his job choice, not understanding that Harry didn't want to fight any more, the war was over, the rest of the Death Eaters were captured and locked up and he just wanted to move on from fighting. It got to the point that Harry could not talk to his two best friends without them bringing up their dislike of his new career choice or the fact that he and Ginny haven't had children yet, even though he had told them why they couldn't, so Harry blocked them out of his Floo and wards to avoid fights and cool off from them. The fights between him and Ginny got to the point that the couple agreed it was in their best interest to just divorce, which drove a wedge deeper between him and the Weasley family when the divorce went through even though it had been a mutual agreement between him and Ginny.

And then it was leaked to the paper that their former Savior was infertile, which caused a whole slew of problems. He couldn't step out of his house without being bombarded by 'well wishers', press and Ministry workers. It got to the point he nearly lost his titles over the fact that he could not produce children to take them upon his death. When that happened, Harry had enough, so, after making Teddy the Black Heir and putting half the fortune in a trust fund for his godson, he took everything from his vaults, left and didn't look back.

The young man was on the brink of snapping any moment and would have if the medi-wizard hadn't moved to America and taken a job in St. Mercy's Magical Branch, and was put in charge of the Child's Ward and Maternity Ward, after switching his focus to children's care and revising his medical training due to Britain's medi-wizards being unfamiliar with the advances of other magical communities. In the Maternity Ward, the Potter lord meet a young teen mother, who would be giving birth to twins and was in the hospital due to her having a very weak body and no family to help take care of her during the pregnancy. The now nearly 26 year old started to spend his time with the young mother and they developed a sibling bond over time. When the twins were born, Maria begged Harry to adopt the two girls instead of letting them be placed into an orphanage before she passed away due to complications. Which he did right away, naming the two blond haired girls, Violet Maria and Jasmine Lillian.

These two girls were the only thing keeping him from snapping now and for once in his life, Harry began to live again. Harrison soon resigned from St. Mercy's and opened up his own business, a flower shop after moving to a small town - to give his daughters a safe and happy life away from the big city. His new home and business were all together in a large three story house, with the home on the top floors and his business on the bottom. Soon enough Harrison and his two daughters became the talk of the town with Harry's business and his status as a single father. Harry was flustered to find his flower shop often populated with single women and single mothers wanting to check out the new father on the block, as well as grandmothers wishing to coo over his baby girls, whom were never far from their adoptive father as babies.

By the time his daughters were five, Harry's business, the Potter Flower Shop, was booming and he had to expand his greenhouse twice to keep up with the orders and he had to hire two new workers. Harry felt that his life was finally turning around.

But, America may seem like a paradise for the young father, it still came with its own dangers. Especially with the radicalists among many of the religions within America and the fact that not all of America was protected and policed by the American Ministry due to how wild the magic is on this continent. Because of the wild magic, many magical creatures can not be monitored and often the violent ones go under the radar until it's too late. Which led to many non-magicals encountering said creatures, and on top of what seemed like a revival of Dark Ones among the mundane, many non-mag became prosecutors of all things magical and thus donned the unimaginative name of Hunters and many would kill anything magical they came across, due to their radical religious views, even if it was later proven that those they killed were just normal creatures or humans. While the mundane police managed to catch most of the amatuer or newer Hunters, some Hunters came from religious cults and were trained in how to hide and spot magical creatures and Hunters were smarter and would wander across America in search of any signs of magic, even going as far as to stalk those who have caught their attention by being 'eccentric' or if they seemed to just stick out: be it their mannerisms, their past or just their livelihood. The American Ministry tried hard to hunt down the Hunters, but it was nearly impossible to spot and find them, due to how well the older ones were trained. Which was why many magicals chose to live in the magical districts instead of the mundane world.

Unfortunately, Harrison never got the memo about the well known predators of magical kind within America and therefore did not think to add certain wards to his house in order to keep evil intent away from his family. He had no idea that a wandering Hunter had passed through town and took note of the stranger whom had set up shop and seemed to be doing well for himself. Too well in the Hunter's mind, especially with just starting his own business and raising two daughters. The man then began to strategically stalk the war veteran and his daughters, making sure to keep well hidden from sight as he kept tabs on the small family. And one day, the stalking paid off just as the Hunter was about to right them off as a normal family.

Harry always took his daughters to a out of the way park to play, due to old paranoia and the fact that his daughters were nearing the age where accidental magic was its most common. This park was always deserted due to how close it was to the forest and the fact that the town often had bears or wolves spotted near said park during the summer time, along with the fact that the park only housed a swingset and a climbing gym, while the more popular park had more equipment that was also up-to-date. Though Harrison was not worried about this as he had his magic to protect his daughters. With the privacy of the park and the fact he had magic to protect from threats, the young father had let down his guard and relaxed while watching his daughters play on the climbing gym. Completely unaware of the danger watching his family from the bushes.

A mistake he would be cursing for many years to come. Especially as he thought back to the odd bundle of plants he found in his back garden near his greenhouse among his nightshade vines. It was a bouquet of Anemone wrapped in Cypress and Bay Leafs, an ominous warning for those whom knew the language of flowers.

It all happened so fast, too fast in Harry's opinion. One moment Violet had been giggling and standing on the top of the climbing gym waving at her sister when the five year old girl lost her balance and began to fall, her scream grabbing her father's and their watcher's attention. Harrison was on his feet in seconds, his wand dropping into his palm from his sleeve as he got ready to cast a spell to save his daughter, only to not need to as her accidental magic kicked in and she simply bounced along the ground before stopping at her sister's feet giggling. Relieved, Harry began to rush over only to be started as a gunshot rang through the park and his daughters screamed.

Stunned, the wizard stared down at his chest, unsure what to think about the hole that had appeared following the gunshot. Shock numbing the pain even as he fell to his knees, a hand going to the wound numbly feeling the blood seep through the gaps between his fingers while his wand dropped from his other hand. Violet and Jasmine rushed toward their father crying and scared, not sure what was happening but knowing their dad was hurt. None of them seeing the figure dressed in black walking out of the forest towards them gun drawn. That is until another gunshot was heard and Violet cried out in pain causing Harry to snap out of his shock. The wizard struggled to his feet, one hand on his chest trying to stem the flow of blood as he stumbled toward his daughters as fast as he could, ignoring the pain and the fact his lungs were filling with blood slowly from being nicked by the bullet. His only thoughts were protecting his daughters from the previously unknown danger.

He couldn't lose his only family, not again, especially not his little girls, his angels. With a surge of adrenaline, Harrison was able to lunge and grab his daughters pulling them close and trying to shield them from the man's gun. Just as another gunshot went off, hitting Harry in the shoulder as the shot had been meant for Jasmine. The wizard cried out in pain before glaring over his shoulder at the Hunter, who stared back without a hint of emotion. Harry's magic was whipping around him, kicking up a visible wind and making the Hunter sneer in disgust at the display of magic.

"Why are you doing this!" the young father snarled holding his two crying daughters close, attention torn between trying to heal Violet with wandless magic and trying to form his violent magic into a shield between the man and them.

"Because abominations like you shouldn't live," the man growled out raising his pistol to shoot Harry again.

Abominations...that word triggered something deep within Harry. A deep buried anger towards it and many other words along the same meaning. This man was a danger to his daughters, to anything and everyone magical, all because they were different- all because they were in his eyes **ABOMINATIONS**.

No they were not the freaks, the demons, the abominations, **THIS MAN WAS!**

Anger and hatred burst through Harrison filling him with renewed energy and causing him to ignore his wounds as he moved. His eyes starting to glow bright green with the force of his magic sparked by his anger, as Harry leaped to his feet and tackled the man trying to wrestle the gun away, which resulted in a brawl and in the process he was shot again this time in the stomach. Due to the shock of being shot a third time, Harry momentarily froze giving the Hunter the chance to kick the weakened and dying wizard off.

The father struggled to his feet just as two consecutive shots rung out through the park and his crying daughters fell silent. Harry could only stare in horror as blood began to flow and pool around his two angels from the wounds in their chests. Shock washed over him, it felt like the life drained out of him at the sight of his dead children...like something within him had been bent and bent before it finally shattered.

Then he heard the sound of running footsteps and looked up, the man was trying to get away and had rushed into the forest. Anger and grief rushed through him, even as something else rose and rippled around him along with his magic. No..NO...this man would not get away with killing his daughters! HE WOULD NOT ALLOW IT!

With a soundless cry, the grieving father took off after the Hunter, completely ignoring his wounds with the rush of adrenaline and something else...something darker. Something that had been growing within the wizard waiting to be unleashed. The dark and consuming urge to kill...but not to just kill this man, to kill others like him. To avenge his daughters and any who have suffered like them.

And Harrison was determined to do just that, he swore it on his magic- unaware that doing so while so close to dying would forever change him, forever bind him to the darkness that had lived within, created from the taint from housing a parasite within him for years and years of suppressed anger and other dark emotions. Magic is a powerful and not a completely understood being. Some things have a very powerful effect when done with magic, especially the words of a dying mage - fore the last words or last thing sworn become a dying curse upon the attacker or attackers, depending on whom the mage believes wronged them.

Harry was dying and had sworn vengeance upon this man and others like him, sworn to never rest until this man and others like him are dead. Something he swore on his magic upon chasing down the killer of his daughters and slashing out his hand towards the back of the Hunter willing anything to happen and just for that man to die. A surge of magic and something else burst out of him causing the roots of the trees around them to burst out of the ground in swarms and impale the running Hunter upon them. Before Harry slowly closed his hand making the roots close around the struggling man they had impaled and start to crush him to death until the man stopped moving and blood covered the roots and dripped on the ground.

The wizard soon slump to the ground struggling to breath as it felt like his magic was draining out of him, guilt weighing heavily on him. Thoughts racing through his head as grief and guilt engulfed him momentarily drowning out the anger. If he had just been more vigilant...if he had just kept his guard up...erected wards of some kind...did something...his daughters wouldn't be dead. His daughters were dead and it was all his fault.

It was all his fault…all his fault...his fault.

NO! It wasn't his fault. It was that man's fault, his and others like him.

Harry coughed and glared at the dead body while leaning heavily against a old oak near him, thinking, _'Yes it is all his fault..his and others like him. If it wasn't for them my daughters wouldn't be dead!'_

The wizard coughed up a mouthful of blood as he finally felt the pain from his wounds and knew he was dying. This filled him with anger and resentment. No, he could not die like this! He couldn't die before all those like that man were dead! Harry coughed and growled around another mouthful of blood, his magic rising weakly to his call, "No, I swear...I swear I will kill all those like him..like the man who killed my daughters...I will wipe them off this Earth...I swear upon my magic!"

' _Violet...Jasmine...I will avenge you..and I'll make sure no one like him ever harms someone magical again.'_

His emerald eyes glowed briefly with power before the light started fading away and soon Harrison stopped breathing as the last of his life left him. The forest was eerie silent before suddenly the fallen wizard's body started to glow as the last of his magic rose up to answer his dying wish drawing upon the well of darkness within him to make it possible. Suddenly, the roots of the tree he was slumped against and those surrounding it slithered out from the ground and slowly, gently wrapped around the wizard's body engulfing him. Soon followed by creeping ivy and flowering vines, until the wizard was encased in a ball of plant life before being drug down under the Earth, the ground closing up with a soft green glow.

The trees swayed though no breeze blew and their limbs seemed to rattle in anticipation, the shadows growing long and dark, yet the sun was still high. The rattling of the tree limbs and leaves sounded eerily like hushed and giddy whispers.

And unseen, nearly blending in with the tall foliage around it, a tall slender figure stood, head tilted in thought.

 _ **Interesting...**_

 **Flower Meanings**

 **Anemone (Garden):** Forsaken.

 **Bay Leaf:** I change but in death.

 **Cypress:** Death. Mourning.

 **Bittenweet; Nightshade:** Truth.

 **AN:** Welp, there you guys have it. Hope you guys liked it and if you did tell me if I should continue or not.


	2. Good News

**Hey, guys! Sorry that I've been gone so long and disappeared for a bit. I've been busy with life and stuff, plus got a new job! ^w^ Yeah!**

 **Anyway, I've decided to give my stories one more chance and revamp them! Even the ones that were adopted. Yes, the originals can still be adopted, though I will be putting the originals in one large story dump along with a list of people whom have adopted them to make it easier and to declutter my account. PM me if you are still interested in adopting them.**

 **Following stories will be revamped!**

 **Winged Heart of Harmony**

 **Gonna Need Therapy**

 **Ice Cold**

 **I will also be taking up the following stories from my Story Ideas**

 **Errand Boy Tsuna**

 **Cake Sale**

 **Holy Sky Above**

 **Hopefully you guys will like the revamped versions and the new stories when I get them posted.**

 **ITS GOOD TO BE BACK**

 **Love, Mez'n'Ser**


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